Sally breaks down USA TODAY’s crossword, Don’t Move a Muscle! (Freestyle)

PAPA (1A: One of many Three Bears) and MAMA (27D: One of many Three Bears) We’re only a Child Bear away from having an entire set.

DOTS (5A: Dippin’ ___ (candy deal with)) This clue / reply pair made me smile. My mother is a large fan of . No go to to Busch Stadium to look at the St. Louis Cardinals play is full till she has her Dippin’ DOTS! Dippin’ DOTS are created by flash freezing ice cream combine in liquid nitrogen. The result’s primarily ice cream pellets. As a result of Dippin’ DOTS must be saved at -40 ℉, they aren’t extensively accessible.

NERD ALERT (17A: “What an adorkable factor to say!”) This can be a enjoyable clue, and jogged my memory of the constructed by Jess Rucks. In that puzzle we noticed ADORKABLE clued as [Delightfully nerdy].

SPLEEN (20A: Organ that filters blood) The SPLEEN is an organ that performs an essential function within the immune system. It acts as a type of blood filter, eradicating previous blood cells, recycling iron, and holding a reserve of blood.

TAHOE (23A: Second-deepest lake within the U.S.) Situated within the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Lake TAHOE straddles the state strains of California and Nevada. Because the clue informs us, Lake TAHOE – at a depth of 1,645 ft – is the second deepest lake within the U.S. The deepest lake within the U.S. is Crater Lake in Oregon, which has a depth of 1,949 ft.

MANE (27A: Lion’s hair) and ESS (44D: Suffix for “lion”) A pair of lion clues appears well timed, contemplating we’re in Leo season, based on the zodiac.

AVALON (32A: King Arthur’s island) AVALON is the legendary island that options within the legend of King Arthur. AVALON is the place King Arthur’s sword, Excalibur was made.

BARNARD (34A: Ladies’s school affiliated with Columbia College) is a personal girls’s liberal arts school within the New York Metropolis borough of Manhattan. Barnard is affiliated with (however legally and financially separate from) Columbia College, and was based in 1889 as a response to Columbia College’s refusal to confess girls (which didn’t occur till 1983!). Alumni of BARNARD embrace anthropologist Margaret Mead (1923), writer Ann Brashares (1989), and filmmaker Greta Gerwig (2006).

GOLEM (41A: clay creature of Jewish folklore) In Jewish custom, a GOLEM is a clay creature that has been magically dropped at life. The GOLEM, after being dropped at life by ritual incantations or the writing of Hebrew letters, turns into a helper or companion. Should you’d wish to be taught extra about GOLEM, I like to recommend from My Jewish Studying.

LOVE (51A: “___ Shack” (B-52’s music)) which the B-52s launched in 1989, turned the band’s signature music. In line with the band, the music was impressed by a membership close to Athens, Georgia referred to as the Hawaiian Ha-Le.

CARE BEARS (56A: Stuffies with stomach badges) CARE BEARS had been created by Elena Kucharik in 1981. Initially designed for use on greeting playing cards, the concept expanded to included toys, and has grown to books, TV exhibits, and flicks. Every CARE BEAR is a special shade and has a novel image on its stomach badge. One factor that caught my consideration about this clue is using the phrase “stuffies” to imply “stuffed animals.” I’ve heard this phrase used earlier than, nevertheless it’s not one I take advantage of, and seeing it in print made me surprise when it got here into use. In line with Merriam-Webster, the phrase stuffie has been in use since 1938 – not precisely a brand new utilization! One other phrase I’ve heard used to explain stuffed animals is “plushie.” That phrase has solely been round since 1982. (Sure, I do know 1982 was 42 years in the past, however actually, it was simply yesterday…)

OPE (62A: Midwestern phrase typically mentioned earlier than “‘Scuse me!”) The expression can be utilized to imply “sorry!” or it can be used as an expression when one is mildly startled. It’s a multipurpose phrase, actually; it may also be used to specific awkwardness or pleasure. As a Midwesterner, I loved seeing OPE within the grid.

DOLPHINS (5D: Marine mammals with extremely complicated emotional processing methods) There are 40 species of DOLPHINS, together with the well-known bottlenose DOLPHIN, and our crossword-friend the orca. DOLPHINS are wonderful animals; they’ve giant brains, are clever, and might really feel feelings resembling love, pleasure, worry, and struggling. Right here’s my favourite enjoyable truth about DOLPHINS: .

OCELOT (6D: Noticed wildcat) An OCELOT is a medium-sized wild cat with a noticed coat. Like different wild cats, OCELOTs use vocalizations – quite a lot of meows and growls – to speak. OCELOTs can purr, like their home cat cousins, however they will’t roar like their massive cat kin.

THREES (7D: Caitlin Clark made 548 throughout her school profession) Since my sports activities data is restricted, I’m all the time thrilled to see a sports activities clue I do know the reply to. Residing in Iowa Metropolis, I’m conversant in Caitlin Clark, who presently performs for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever. In school, Caitlin Clark performed for the College of Iowa. She is the NCAA Division I all-time main scorer (3,951 factors). She can be the NCAA girls’s Division I profession chief for three-pointers, or THREES (548).

REO (9D: ___ Speedwagon) has been making music since 1967. The band has included a variety of totally different members via the years, however one of many band’s founding members, Neal Doughty, has performed on each album. REO Speedwagon launched their first album, which was self-titled, in 1971. Their most up-to-date studio album is Not So Silent Evening … Christmas with REO Speedwagon (2009).

EMU (10D: Chook whose males incubate eggs and rear chicks) I’m a fan of a clue that provides a enjoyable animal truth. When mating season rolls round, the . After the feminine lays 5 to fifteen eggs (which are inexperienced, by the way in which), the male sits on the nest, incubating the eggs till they hatch. Feminine EMUs mate with a number of companions, and should lay eggs in a number of nests. Which means a male EMU might incubate and rear EMU chicks that aren’t his personal.

CAT’S CRADLE (11D: String recreation) I’ve spent hours of my life utilizing a loop of string to make string figures. is a two-person string recreation, although there’s a solo model, and there are different shapes that one individual could make. When my children had been younger (earlier than cell telephones had been ubiquitous), I might preserve loops of string in my purse to offer leisure when ready was required.

MASA (14D: Dough for pupusas) MASA is a maize dough used for making pupusas, a thick flatbread that originated in El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Guatemala.

TELEKINESIS (23D: Potential to maneuver objects with the thoughts) This reply jogs my memory of a joke my son used to inform me when he was youthful. He would sing (to the tune of “If You’re Blissful and You Know It”), “Should you’re telekinetic and it, increase my hand…”

IAN (26D: “Cats” actor McKellen) The 2019 musical film Cats was primarily based on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1981 musical of the identical identify, which in flip was primarily based on T. S. Eliot’s 1939 poetry assortment Outdated Possum’s Ebook of Sensible Cats. The film was a box-office bomb, however its forged contained many massive names. IAN McKellen performed the function of Gus the Theatre Cat.

CLE (49D: The Browns, on a scoreboard) The Cleveland Browns (CLE, on a scoreboard) are an NFL group primarily based in Ohio.

Just a few different clues and solutions I particularly loved:

• SEX (22A: Little bit of census datum)

• STRUGGLE BUS (25D: Metaphorical journey for somebody having a troublesome time)

• NADA COLADA (29D: Tropical mocktail)

• HEADLAMP (37D: Camper’s hands-free night time gentle)